Seem Normal, Fit In
by Stinkfly3
Summary: What's the deal with Corey and Trina? Why does she show unnatural powers when she goes diary? How could he beat Kin at table tennis? This story should answer all questions you probably have about the Riffin siblings.
1. The Diary and Guitar

When demons are very young, they go through a monster cat stage. This is when they behave very much like a feline. They walk on all fours, speak in only cat sounds, have an unsettling craving for tuna, and other cat-like mannerisms. Despite this, they still know how to pick things up with their hands. Luckily for the parents, the monster cat stage always ends on the young demon's third birthday.

Except for Corey Riffin.

You see, Corey wasn't like all the other demons. He was already five years old and he was still in the monster cat stage. He walked on all eights (he had four extra arms), made cat sounds instead of talking properly, and still loved eating tuna. But he was a brilliant young demon. He could express his feelings through words and pictures. Even though he could pick things up with his hands instead of his mouth, he still ate his food on the floor.

Corey's older sister by four years, Trina, was very concerned about him. She grew out of the monster cat stage on her third birthday like all other demons, so why was Corey an exception? Why did he mature slower than other demons? Was he special, or just an unfortunate mistake?

From what she saw, Trina figured Corey was an unfortunate mistake. As the children of the Underworld king, Corey and Trina were expected to be VERY powerful demon spawns. Trina was already powerful, with powers that varied depending on her current emotion. Flames for anger, hearts for happiness, green slime for terrified, and storm clouds for sadness. But even with all of this great power, she had a hard time controlling it.

Corey, on the other hand, was a different story. No matter what emotion he felt, he only had control over electrical energy. But unlike his emotion-powered sister, he had better control over his powers. He was also incredibly skilled. If possible, he could challenge surface dwellers to any kind of game. As long as he used a small portion of his powers, he could very easily win.

But no matter how hard Corey tried, Trina was always Mr. Riffin's favorite. Not because she was the first born, but because she had great potential. Mr. Riffin knew that if he took over the surface world, Trina would become the next leader of the Underworld due to her great power. This enraged Corey since he knew there has never been an Underworld queen before, thinking he should be the next ruler because of tradition. But sadly, with him still in his monster cat stage, he knew it was never going to happen.

Then one day, Corey and Trina's lives changed forever.

* * *

"You want me to go to the surface world?!" Trina asked during dinner one night.

"Precisely," Mr. Riffin answered. "You are my pride and joy, dearest child. It is time for you to live among the humans."

Corey, who was eating tuna on the floor with his clawed hands, looked up and let out a small meow. "Yes, you too, Corey," Mr. Riffin said.

Corey happily meowed and resumed eating his tuna. "But dad, I don't want to go to the surface world!" Trina protested. "It's all boring up there!"

"Trina, you must do this," Mr. Riffin said. "Why else have I taught you and Corey how to disguise yourselves as humans?"

Mr. Riffin had a good point. His children didn't resemble normal humans. They both had bright red skin, all-black eyes with pale green pupils, an armored tail with a spade tip, ivory-clawed hands and feet, red and black bat-like wings, and sharp fangs. Trina had waist-length dark purple hair with pink streaks, a pink and black demonic pentagram on her left shoulder, a 'Demon's Child' tattoo on her collarbone, long black horns, and she wore a very revealing purple dress. Aside from his four extra arms, Corey had blue hair with silver streaks, short grey horns, and a blue and black demonic pentagram on his right shoulder.

"I thought it was part of our training," Trina admitted.

"So is you going to the surface world," Mr. Riffin explained. "Dearest Trina, you are a powerful demon with uncontrollable powers. Your brother only has electrical powers, but he can control them very well. Together, your abilities and skills compliment one another. He can help you control your powers, and you can teach him how to control other elements."

"I don't know, dad," Trina said, glancing at Corey, who was happily finishing his tuna. "Corey's different from other demons."

"Indeed he is," Mr. Riffin replied. "I have never seen him behave violently, not even with the other young demons. But I see greatness in him. Can you help him see that greatness, my beloved daughter?"

Trina looked at her feline-like brother again and sighed. "Alright dad," she said. "We'll go."

* * *

After dinner, Mr. Riffin brought Corey and Trina over to a door labeled 'Surface World'. "This is the portal to your new home," the demon king explained. "You are also allowed to use this same portal to visit me if either of you are homesick."

Corey looked at the door and squealed. But just as he was about to open the door with his tail, Mr. Riffin stopped him. "Hold on, Corey," he said. "You and Trina must first activate your disguises."

"Oh, that's easy," Trina said. Then multiple pink hearts appeared around her. A few seconds later, the hearts vanished, resulting in a change in her appearance. Her hair was shorter and bright pink, her skin was the same shade as a Caucasian human's skin, and her eyes were pink. Her horns, tail, claws, wings, fangs, tattoo, and demonic pentagram were gone.

"Wonderful, Trina," Mr. Riffin complimented. "Just wonderful."

Knowing it was his turn, Corey closed his eyes. When his eyes were shut, pale blue electricity surrounded him. When it vanished, Corey opened his eyes. He looked at his reflection in the door, but he couldn't recognize himself. His tail, wings, horns, claws, four extra arms, demonic pentagram, and the silver streaks in his hair were gone. His skin was the same color as flesh and his eyes were bright blue. He ended up growling at the reflection.

"That's just you," Trina reassured. "You should know since you practiced."

Corey calmed down, realizing his sister was right.

"Now before you go, I have a special artifact for each of you," Mr. Riffin said. He took out a pink book with a matching pen. "Trina, this is a special device that allows you to steal the souls of humans. It comes with an instructions manual so you can learn how to use it."

Trina squealed as her father gave her the device. "This is the Soul-Capturer Ten Thousand!" she exclaimed, pink hearts appearing around her. "I always wanted one! Thank you so much!"

Corey sadly meowed as if he was asking for an artifact of his own. "I also have something for you, Corey," Mr. Riffin said. He placed a red-yellow guitar near the cat-like demon. "This is a special device," the demon king explained. "When you play it, any mortal who hears it is drawn to its sound. You could even use it to control their minds."

Corey looked at the guitar. Curious, he plucked the strings with one hand. He purred, pleased with the melody. "There is one last thing you need to know about it," Mr. Riffin continued. "When the time comes for me to take over the surface world, you must play a special riff with this guitar to activate a portal that will release my army of demons. Do you understand?"

Corey meowed in response, too busy having fun plucking the guitar strings. Ever since he was very young, he always wanted to be a musician. He even spent most of his free time watching an Earth program featuring an animatronic band.

"So are we living by ourselves?" Trina asked.

"Of course not," Mr. Riffin answered. "You are going to live with your human mother. She is already waiting for you."

"Mom is on the other side?" Trina asked. "I haven't seen her in a long time, and I don't think Corey's ever met her."

"I have already told her about you coming to the surface world," Mr. Riffin explained. "She is looking forward to see you."

Corey let out a confused meow. "It's okay, Corey," Trina said, strapping the guitar around his torso. "Mom will still love you, cat features and all."

Keeping that in mind, Corey took a deep breath and nodded at his sister, indicating he was ready. "Okay dad," Trina said. "We're ready." Then she opened the door and she and entered the surface world.


	2. Mister Mooseface, the Beanie, and Chips

The demon siblings were greeted by a woman who looked a lot like Corey. But the younger demon shirked, scared by the sight of this unknown woman.

"Hey mom," Trina said. "Haven't seen you in a long time."

"Oh Trina," Mrs. Riffin said, hugging the older demon. "The last time I saw you, you were craving tuna. You grew up so fast!"

"Mom!" Trina squeaked. "I need to breathe!"

Mrs. Riffin let go of Trina. "Sorry sweetheart," she said.

Corey peaked out from behind his sister. "Mom, this is Corey," Trina explained. "Dad wanted him to come with me."

Mrs. Riffin looked at her son, amazed with how much he has grown. "I haven't seen you since you were still a newborn," she said. "Guess you didn't turn three yet."

"He's five," Trina corrected.

"Five?" Mrs. Riffin repeated. "But aren't demons supposed to stop behaving like cats on their third birthday?"

"Corey's different from other demons," Trina said. "VERY different."

Mrs. Riffin bent down. "Don't you worry, Corey," she said, giving him a pat on the head. "I know you're going to fit in perfectly."

Corey meowed quietly, still scared of not blending in with other humans. "Corey, just be thankful our disguises are better than the ones the Heckmans used," Trina said.

Mrs. Riffin got back up. "The Heckmans?" she asked.

"They were a family of demons who lived in the Underworld," Trina explained. "Several years ago, dad asked them to go to Texas and shut down a drill that would destroy the Underworld. They succeeded after ten weeks, but they failed with trying to blend in with the community. They didn't even bother to change the color of their skin. Since then, all demons who visit the surface world try their best to follow the code of SNORFIN: Seem NORmal Fit IN."

"Well you both look pretty normal to me," Mrs. Riffin said. "Now come along. I want to show you two your new home."

* * *

And so, Mrs. Riffin showed Trina and Corey the various rooms of their new home. Since not everything in the house didn't exist in the Underworld, Corey and Trina were in awe with what they thought was strange and new. In fact, Corey thought the washer machine was some kind of ride. When the tour was over, Mrs. Riffin brought her demon children to the living room.

"Thanks for letting us live here, mom," Trina said, while Corey nodded in agreement.

"Not a problem," Mrs. Riffin said. "I also have a few things for each of you."

"Really?" Trina asked.

Mrs. Riffin nodded in response, then she gave a stuffed moose to the older demon. "This is Mister Mooseface," the human woman explained. "He will protect you from the bad things in this world as you sleep. Keep him with you at all times, and you'll have a happy experience on the surface world."

Trina looked at the stuffed moose, smiled, and hugged it. "Thanks mom!"

Corey meowed, as if he was asking his mother for her gift to him. "Of course I have something for you, Corey," Mrs. Riffin said. "A special something. You see, your father told me you would feel uncomfortable here."

Corey nodded in response. "So of course you're worried the other humans will notice your natural blue hair," Mrs. Riffin said.

Corey's eyes widened. That was NOT why he would feel uncomfortable. It was because he was still in the monster cat stage. Nonetheless, Mrs. Riffin took out a plain orange beanie and put in on Corey's head. "There," she said. "That should hide your hair."

Corey was about to meow in response, but Trina stopped him. "It goes with your outfit," she said. "Deal with it."

* * *

That night, Corey had a hard time sleeping in his new room. Back in the Underworld, he slept on a cat bed. But in his new home on the surface world, he had to sleep on a bed for humans. He knew Trina could feel comfortable sleeping in something that wasn't like the cage she had to sleep in back in the Underworld, but Corey felt uncomfortable. Here he was, curled up in ball on his new bed and unable to sleep.

Wanting to get some shut-eye, Corey left his room and entered Trina's. He didn't want to disturb her, so he went under her bed. But just as he was about to finally sleep, he noticed a bag of chips next to him. He didn't eat much for dinner, so he figured a chip snack wouldn't hurt. He snatched the bag, opened it, and ate the chips. They were pretty good for surface world food. In fact, he thought they were better than tuna.

But when he ate the last chip, he couldn't help but feel like he was being watched. Curious, he looked up and saw Trina looking right at him. He was about to explain, through various cat sounds, why he was under her bed when Trina spoke first. "Corey!" she exclaimed. "GET OUT!"

Startled by Trina nearly turning into her true demon form, Corey hissed and scampered back to his room. Looks like it was going to be pretty hard for him to blend in among the humans...


	3. Newmans and Nick Mallory

**A/N: In case you didn't figure it out, this is a prequel to the story Of Demons and Angels by M.R. 3. And speaking of which, that particular author is taking a break from writing that story, as well as Make Him Understand. In the meantime, I'll work on this prequel with at least one new chapter posted every single day until it's completed. Now back to the story.**

* * *

The next day, Mrs. Riffin dropped Corey and Trina off at their respective schools. When Corey arrived at his new classroom, he was greeted by the teacher.

"You must be Corey Riffin," the teacher said. "I'm Miss Honey, your new teacher. Would you like to tell the class about yourself?"

Corey froze in shock. What if Miss Honey didn't know he can't talk yet? He knew the other kids were looking at him because he was still on all fours, so he tried to do his best to talk. Unfortunately, it didn't come out right.

"Mmmm... Rowwwww... Eeeeeeow... Merowww..."

"Oh dear," Miss Honey commented. "Can't talk?"

Corey shook his head in response, embarrassed.

"It's okay," Miss Honey said. "Everyone has their own special quirks. Now why don't you find a place to sit?"

Corey did so. He walked around to see if anyone would let him sit next to them. Eventually, he found a table that was already occupied by a girl with long blue hair and an orange and white checkered dress. He meowed as an attempt to ask this girl if he could sit next to her, but her reaction wasn't what he was expecting.

"Back off, weirdo," the girl said in a cold tone. "I don't want to catch your cat disease."

Corey frowned, walking over to an unoccupied table and sitting next to it on the floor. That girl wasn't nice to him, and he didn't like it. What if the other kids in the class were just as mean as her?

* * *

Soon it was time for the class to go out to the school playground and have fun. However, Corey sat by a tree and looked at the other kids. He also noticed the blue-haired girl from earlier was with three other kids: a red-haired boy with a black shirt and green shorts, a skinny black-haired girl with glasses and a red dress, and a large blonde girl with a black tank top and blue jeans.

Corey hissed at those four kids. From what he saw, the other kids were afraid of them. He didn't like seeing them treat the others like garbage, so he got on all fours and ran over to them. However, a random blonde boy stopped him. "Don't you know who those are?"

Corey growled, wanting to hurt that girl and her friends. "That's Carrie Beff, Lenny Newman, Kim Pine, and Konnie Magik," the blonde boy explained. "They're the toughest kids in the grade. Stay away from them at all costs. They'll tear you apart."

But Corey didn't listen to the boy. He ran over to the blue-haired girl, Carrie, leaped up, and tackled her to the ground, both hands tightly wrapped around her neck. "Ew!" Carrie shrieked. "Get off me!"

"Is that the cat boy you told us about during lunch?" the blonde girl, Konnie, asked.

"Yes!" Carrie exclaimed. "Now get him off me!"

The black-haired girl, Kim, pried Corey off of Carrie. "He's stranger than that quiet girl in my class," Kim commented as Corey broke free from her grasp and got back on the ground.

"No kidding," the red-haired boy, Lenny, agreed. "He thinks he's a cat."

"Well he's still a freak," Carrie said, getting back on her feet.

Corey growled at that statement. "You've got something to say?" Carrie asked. "Oh, that's right. You can't talk!" She and the other three laughed as Corey hissed. But just as he was about to tackle Carrie again...

BOOM!

Corey noticed students from the elementary school next door were running out of a classroom covered in green slime. Then a familiar voice broke through.

"But you killed those frogs! You're supposed to eat them while they're alive or they'll get infected!"

That was Trina. You see, Corey knew his sister had a VERY hard time controlling her powers. I know I already said it in the first chapter, but Trina was so bad with controlling her powers, she was worse than other demons her age. Things exploded or went on fire when she was angry, a heavy rainstorm suddenly appeared when she was sad, multiple hearts blew around when she was happy, and she would appear to explode into green slime when she was scared.

Forgetting about Carrie and her gang, Corey ran over to Trina, who was drenched in green slime. He meowed, asking her what happened.

"Oh, hey Corey," Trina said. "I just met this boy named Nick Mallory. His appearance is so perfect, I'm sure his DNA will cure ugliness in the Underworld. Everything was going great until the teacher wanted us to 'dissect' frogs. Of course, I was looking forward to doing that since it was probably like how I usually eat frogs back home, but then I realized the frogs were already dead. I got a bit scared with the thought of getting sick from a dead diseased-carried frog."

Corey wiped some green slime from Trina's leg. "Too much?" she asked.

Corey nodded in response. It looked like he wasn't the only one having a bad first day at school.

* * *

That afternoon, Mrs. Riffin picked up her demon children and took them back home. There, Trina worked on her first homework assignment while Corey drew a picture on the floor with some colored pencils. It was quiet until Mrs. Riffin received a phone call from the elementary school principal. "Hello?" she asked. "... Yes, I'm her mother. ... Oh. ... I see. ... Uh-huh. ... He was probably seeing things. That's not like her. ... I'll talk to her about it. ... Bye." She hung up.

"Who was that?" Trina asked, not looking up from her homework.

"Principal Tanzanian," Mrs. Riffin answered. "He said just had a discussion with Mr. Nile about what happened in science class today. Apparently you appeared to explode into green slime as he handed out frog cadavers."

Trina looked up from her homework. "They were dead!" she exclaimed. "I was going to get infected with some surface world disease!"

"I'm not upset about that," Mrs. Riffin said. "I'm concerned about you not controlling your powers."

Trina got up from her seat. "I'm trying!" she insisted, her eyes briefly glowing red. "I just don't know how to control myself!"

"Trina, your father told me you're worse than other demons your age," Mrs. Riffin said. "Just try to control yourself."

Trina sighed as her eyes regained their disguised color. "I don't know how," she said, a heavy rainstorm suddenly appearing from outside.

"Maybe Corey can teach you," Mrs. Riffin suggested. "He's surprisingly good at controlling his powers."

So Trina walked over to her brother and kneeled next to him. "Okay Corey," she said. "How do you do it? What's the secret to power control?"

But Corey wasn't listening to her. He growled as he finished his drawing. Trina looked at the picture. It depicted four badly drawn kids with metal spears through their bodies. "You okay?"

Corey responded by writing a message on the top of the picture. It said 'Carry Bef + hur famahly muhst suhfur!'.

Trina was surprised. Corey was angry with what happened to him in school today, but he didn't release electrical blasts from his palms. "How are you staying this calm?" she asked.

Corey yowled, pointing at the picture. "Do you want me to do something about it?" Trina asked.

Corey responded by writing another message on the picture. It said 'Mak hur peh four mohcking me!'.

Trina looked at her brother. The last time he was this angry was when their father gave them a tour of his torture facility and Corey didn't bother putting on elevator music-proof earplugs. Long story short, that was the day the company first had a blackout. So not wanting to let another incident happen again, she knew what she had to do.

"Okay," Trina said, scratching behind his ear. "I'll do it. Anything you have in mind?"

Corey responded by taking out a black colored pencil and drawing a big X over one of the badly-drawn kids in his picture. He didn't care what Trina did. As long as Carrie paid for her cruelty, any form of torture was fine by him.


	4. The Mysterious Beauty and Mina's Arrival

The next day, Corey arrived at Miss Honey's class with a smile on his face. As he walked over to his table, he walked by Carrie, looking directly at her. "What are you smiling at, freak?" she asked.

Corey let out a low meow and sat next to his table on the floor. He knew Trina would do something to torture Carrie's family, and he couldn't wait to see what she did.

"Okay class," Miss Honey said. "As you all know, this year's Halloween festival is coming up next week. Is everyone excited?"

While the rest of the class cheered, Corey jumped onto his table and meowed rather loudly. Halloween was a special holiday for the demons. Back in the Underworld, all living demons would put together a grand parade honoring their king and his family. And as part of said family, Corey adored Halloween.

"Corey, we can see how happy you are," Miss Honey said. "But can you get off the table?"

Corey realized what he was doing. Embarrassed, he got off the table and went back to his spot on the floor.

"Now, in honor of Halloween, I have a special assignment for each of you," Miss Honey continued. "This year, I volunteered this class for designing the festival's haunted house. Do any of you have any ideas?"

Carrie raised her hand. "We should have witches and winged monkeys, like in Wizard of Oz," she said.

"That's a good suggestion, Carrie," Miss Honey said. "Anyone else?"

While the other kids were giving suggestion, Corey quickly drew a picture of a random demon. When he was done, he raised his hand to present the picture. "Are you saying you want to include demons in the haunted house, Corey?" Miss Honey asked.

Corey happily nodded. As someone who was secretly a native from the Underworld, he wanted to honor his father by creating makeshift versions of famous Underworld landmarks.

"Demons?" Carrie asked. "That's too creepy."

"Carrie, be nice," Miss Honey said. "Corey, you have a wonderful idea. The previous haunted houses never included demons, so it's always nice to try something new."

Corey let out a pleased meow. It was as if things were starting to go well in his favor.

* * *

Later that day, during recess, Corey rested near the same tree he sat by yesterday. He thought about what he could use in the haunted house. There was the torture facility with nonstop elevator music, the floating eyeball museum, that one building filled with loud shrieks... The possibilities were endless!

So the young demon closed his eyes and purred as he laid on his stomach, feeling perfectly calm. It was already his second day living on the surface world and he never felt this good in his life. The grass against his skin, the distant sound of human kids playing on the playground, the wind gently caressing his hair-

Wait, why didn't he feel his beanie on his head?

Corey opened his eyes, only to see the most wonderful thing he ever saw. It was a girl with long red hair that covered her left eye. She wore a sleeveless lime green dress and black boots. She was kneeling next to him, holding the orange beanie with one hand and using her other hand to stroke his hair. At the moment, she looked worried, noticing he was looking at her.

Corey was speechless. He saw other girls in his class, but this one stood out. He reached out to the girl with one hand and gently touched her hair. It was the softest thing he ever felt. He let out a small and quiet meow, a curious expression appearing on his face.

But the girl removed her hand from Corey's hair, put the beanie back on his head, got back up, and ran off. He meowed loudly, wanting her to stop running. She didn't listen, leaving him all alone.

Even when she was gone, she was the only thing on the young demon's mind.

* * *

Back in Miss Honey's class, she had her class work on a basic math worksheet. While Corey answered the math problems that were on his worksheet, he couldn't stop thinking about that girl with the soft red hair. He could still feel the locks in between his fingers. But what was her name?

Corey glanced at Carrie. He remembered hearing her friend Kim mention a quiet girl in her class yesterday, so maybe that was also the red-haired girl. He flipped over his already finished worksheet and drew a picture of the girl. When he was done, he walked over to Carrie and meowed. "What do you want?"

Corey showed Carrie his picture. "So?" she asked.

Corey pointed at his picture, trying to ask Carrie if she knows who the girl is. "That looks like Laney Penn," Carrie said.

Corey meowed in response. "Yeah, it does look like Laney Penn," Carrie said. "She's in the same class as Kim. That girl's just as strange as you. She's so quiet, she doesn't even talk." The blue-haired girl went back to her worksheet. "What a weirdo."

Corey went back to his spot on the floor next to his table. He wrote 'Lanee Pen' on the bottom of the page. He looked at the words and quietly meowed to himself, trying to say her name. It was as if this girl was changing him, making him feel more human and less demon.

* * *

Later that day, Corey ate dinner with his family. As usual, he ate his tuna on the floor. He was still thinking about Laney, and why she walked up to him during recess. He wished one of his powers was the ability to read minds just so he could know what she was thinking.

"So Corey, you know how yesterday you wanted me to make the Beffs suffer because this Carrie girl was mean to you?" Trina asked.

Corey looked up at his sister and nodded in response. "I did something like that today," Trina continued. She held up the book portion of her soul capture device. "I met her older sister Bernadette, stole her soul, and made her my personal assistant for all eternity. I even forced her to legally change her name to Mina so the other humans know she only works for me. Are you okay with that?"

Corey happily meowed as he nodded his head in response. He had a feeling Carrie wouldn't like that at all, so it was a good comeuppance at the moment. All that was left for him to do was try to become friends with Laney and work on his ideas for this year's haunted house for the Halloween festival.


	5. Demons Love Eating Chocolate

After that day, things seemed pretty normal for the Riffins. Corey grew used to living as a human, even if he struggled with a few basic tasks. He had fun learning about how human culture worked. Even if Carrie and her gang picked on his once in a while, he quickly grew used to it. It was a shame he never saw Laney again, though. He still thought about her, even while he was working on his portion of the haunted house. Speaking of which, he decided to go with an exact replica of the Wall of Spiders, his favorite ride in the yearly Underworld carnival. It was a lot like a rock wall, except it was more realistic and covered in living spiders.

Trina, on the other hand, wasn't doing great. It was mostly because of her unable to control her powers. While she did learn how to repress them, it always resulted in her passing out from nausea. Mrs. Riffin was just glad she didn't release her powers during class. Aside from the power issue, Trina had to deal with trying to bring Nick Mallory to the Underworld so he could help ugly female demons. She tried to steal his soul, but it was very hard for her to do that. It was as if his soul was hard for her to extract. The only good thing that was going for her was forcing Mina to risk her life doing dangerous tasks for her younger brother.

All in all, that was what Corey and Trina considered normal for their human lives. And with Halloween a week away, they were looking forward to honor their family legacy the human way. Then something happened to Corey that changed his view on the surface world.

* * *

After school one afternoon, Mr. Riffin wanted Corey to visit the Underworld for something very important. Corey wasn't sure what it was, but he still stepped through the portal and found himself back in the Underworld. To him, it felt kind of nice to be back home. He wondered if Otis was still demonically friendly like he was the last time he saw him.

Anyways, Corey was greeted by his father. "Corey, you do not have to wear that disguise here," the Underworld king said. "You can take it off."

Corey shook his head in response. Unlike his sister, he felt comfortable in human skin. He didn't even want to go back to his true form. He grew used to seeing his human face in mirrors, was okay with walking on all fours, and didn't mind not having a tail and wings. Now that he thought about it, they used to make him feel uncomfortable as he tried to sleep.

"Very well," Mr. Riffin said. "Now, do you know why I asked you here?"

Corey shook his head again, meowing in response.

"Your mother has told me your experiences on the surface world so far," Mr. Riffin continued. "It appears you are struggling with human culture."

Corey was about to meow in protest when he thought back to his life on the surface world the past few days. Whenever he did something that he thought was normal, the kids in his class looked at him like he was in his true demon form. Come to think of it, he still ate tuna on the floor with his hands, rested near his favorite tree during recess while the other kids were on the playground, had to use pictures and words for communication, and had a habit of licking the backs of his hands instead of using what the humans call a 'sink'.

"I know I have always seen your sister as the favorite offspring," Mr. Riffin said. "But I want to give you something that will help you cope with your problems." He gave Corey a DVD. "This movie is about a human who accomplishes so much even though he was different. I am sure you can relate to him."

Corey looked at the DVD cover. It showed an adult human male sitting on a bench. He meowed, asking why he was given this particular movie. "The actor playing the special human is well known in the surface world," Mr. Riffin explained. "I also heard this movie is based on a chain of restaurants. Perhaps there is one in Peaceville."

Corey was confused. What WAS Peaceville? Luckily, Mr. Riffin saw the confused look on the young demon's face. "Peaceville is the town where you now live."

Corey let out a small meow as he nod, understanding what his father just told him.

* * *

When Corey arrived back in his surface world home, he immediately headed for the living room to watch the movie. Luckily the DVD player was close to the ground, so he didn't have to ask his mother for help. He put the DVD into the DVD player and got on the couch. He was curled up in a ball so he felt comfortable watching the movie. After some previews for things he never heard of, the movie finally began.

**"Hello. My name is Forrest, Forrest Gump. Would you like a chocolate?"**

Corey purred for a few seconds. Chocolate was a delicacy in the Underworld. EVERY demon craved it, even him and Trina. He could just tell this was going to be a good movie.

And it was. Corey loved every single minute. The main protagonist overcame his flaws and became a hero among the humans. He even married a girl who was his best friend since childhood. Corey learned there was a term for two people who were that close: peas and carrots. There was also a war scene, but the young demon didn't flinch. In fact, he snickered when one of the soldiers lost both of his legs. Overall, it was a great movie.

But even when the movie was over, Corey replayed it to jot down his favorite quotes. When he was finished, he had a perfect list of various surface world terms for him to use if he could ever talk.

'You can tell a lot about a person by their shoes.'

'Peas and Carrots = Human term for best friends since childhood.'

'You've got to put the past behind you before you can move on.'

'Life's like a box of chocolates. You'll never know what you're gonna get.'

'Stupid is as stupid does.'

'Dying is a part of life.'

'I'm not a smart man, but I know what love is.'

Corey looked at the last sentence he wrote. It seemed like what humans do to show love was different from demons. Back in the Underworld, when demons wanted to declare their love for another, they throw mud at their faces to mark them as their own. There was even a gesture where they drink from the River of Dripping Blood at the same time. But in the movie, the protagonist did SOMETHING with the girl he loved, but he had no idea what that something was due to the bad lighting in that particular scene.

So for now, Corey drew a circle around that confusing word. It would have to be something for his future self to worry about. For now, all he needed to do was focus on the haunted house.

* * *

The next day, Corey and his classmates started working on the haunted house. Since he couldn't use real spiders, Corey attached rubber ones to a rock climbing wall normally used in gym class. It was only temporary, so he used string to attach the spiders to the wall. As he tied the spiders to the wall, the other kids were impressed to see him climb the wall without a safety harness. Yes, Corey wanted the wall to be covered in fake spiders, even in spots where he couldn't normally reach.

"Corey, you can come down," Miss Honey said. "You've done enough."

Corey meowed in response, wanting to add more spiders. Back in the Underworld, the actual Wall of Spiders was covered in millions of spiders. He wasn't finished with his replica. Only twenty more spiders to go.

"Corey, you have to come down!" a girl exclaimed.

"You're going to get hurt!" a boy exclaimed.

"Oh please," Carrie said. "He's too busy with his project to hear you. He's one creepy kid for climbing that wall without safety."

While the other kids were talking, Corey noticed the haunted house lighting was so bad, the others could barely see him, especially since he was already high up. He looked at the leftover spiders in his hand and smiled to himself. Concentrating on his disguise, he made his four extra arms appear. Then he used his extra arms to finish tying the spiders to the wall. When he was finished, he concentrated on his disguise again to hide his extra arms. Then he climbed down and landed on the ground on all fours.

"Are you finally done, Corey?" Miss Honey asked.

Corey meowed and nodded in response. He had a good feeling his father was going to be so proud of him for his replica.


	6. Puppet Problem

**A/N: I know I would say I would post at least one chapter every day, but this was a tough chapter to write. So sorry for the wait, folks!**

* * *

**One Week Later...**

Tomorrow was the Halloween festival, and Miss Honey's class was finished with the haunted house. Carrie stuck with her Wizard of Oz theme, while Corey did a terrific job with the Wall of Spiders replica. The other students also came up with their own creepy ideas. All in all, it was the best haunted house in all of Peaceville Halloween festival history.

But there was still something bothering Corey. It was the desire to see Laney again. Even as he worked on classwork, he still thought about the girl and her soft hair. He longed to feel those red locks of hers again. But sadly, he never saw her after that one day. He could try to ask Kim if she could help him find Laney, but he knew that since Kim was one of Carrie's friends, she would probably turn him down. So for now, Corey gave up on finding Laney. It wasn't like she was THAT special anyway.

* * *

After school, Mrs. Riffin brought Corey and Trina to the Peaceville toy store. "Mom, why are we here?" Trina asked as the family entered the store.

"To shop for costumes, of course," Mrs. Riffin answered. "Trina, you're old enough to shop on your own, so have fun choosing your costume for tomorrow. Corey, I want you to stay with me. Don't want the employees to look at you because of your unusual behavior."

Corey nodded in response, remembering to keep his mouth shut. Since he was still in the monster cat stage, he needed help to get what he wanted. So while Trina went off to do her own shopping, he went in a cart Mrs. Riffin got for him. All he had to do was stay in it and no one would get suspicious.

* * *

The shopping went on for a while, and things seemed pretty normal. Mrs. Riffin brought Corey to the costume aisle, but nothing seemed interesting to him. In fact, he wanted to be the protagonist from his favorite movie for Halloween this year. But no matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find that specific costume.

"See anything you like?" Mrs. Riffin asked.

Corey shook his head in response. If what he wanted wasn't available in stores, he hoped to get a homemade costume instead. He could show his mother scenes from the movie for a reference. He wanted everyone to know how much the film meant to him, why this fictional character changed his life-

"AAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Corey looked up. It sounded like that scream came from Trina. Looking at his mother, he made a small cat noise and pointed at where he heard the scream. "Was that Trina?" Mrs. Riffin asked, in which Corey nodded in response.

* * *

When Mrs. Riffin arrived at the puppet aisle, she and Corey saw Trina curled up in a fetal position with puppets surrounding her. "Scary puppet..." the older demon whimpered. "Scary puppet..."

Mrs. Riffin walked over to her daughter and picked her up. "It's okay, Trina," she said. "The puppets aren't going to hurt you. Just stay calm and try not to explode into green slime."

Corey frowned. He never saw Trina this scared before. He glanced at the puppets on the floor. They didn't even look scary! So why was his sister freaked out by them?

"If it makes you feel better, we can go home," Mrs. Riffin said.

"B-B-But I didn't get my costume," Trina stammered.

At that moment, Corey got an idea. He leapt out of the cart and ran back to the costume aisle. He did come back, but with a police officer costume in one hand. He meowed, showing Trina the costume. "Is that for me?" she asked.

Corey nodded in response. Trina gasped, starting to calm down. "That's great!" she exclaimed. "I can be an RIPD officer!"

Corey knew what Trina was talking about. The RIPD was the Rest in Peace Department. Their job was to make sure dead humans didn't escape from the Underworld. It made things easier for the demons who worked at the torture facility. Corey knew how much Trina idolized the RIPD. She even wanted to become the first demon to join the team when she was older.

"That's very sweet of you, Corey," Mrs. Riffin said. "But what about your costume?"

Corey smiled, indicating he wanted his mother to make his costume when they got home.


	7. Big Changes

It was finally Halloween. When Corey and Trina came home from school, they put on their costumes for tonight's festival. While Trina was making a few changes to her costume, Mrs. Riffin helped Corey with his costume. A few hours later, both siblings were wearing their completed costumes.

"Alright you escapees," Trina said, pointing her toy gun at imaginary criminals. "It's back to the Underworld for you!"

"Trina, you have to remember humans never heard of the RIPD," Mrs. Riffin pointed out. "So while your with humans, just say you're a cop."

Trina sighed. "Okay, mom."

Corey chirruped, holding an empty chocolate box with one hand. He was wearing an exact replica of the outfit the protagonist in his favorite movie wore in the bus stop scene, complete with old sneakers. "Corey, I know you're excited, but can you promise me you'll try to behave like a normal human?"

Corey sadly meowed. He knew he couldn't make that promise. If he couldn't grow out of the monster cat stage on his third birthday, what were the chances of him ever growing out of it? He figured he would be stuck like this for the rest of his life.

* * *

When Mrs. Riffin dropped Corey and Trina off at the Halloween festival (which was located at a local farm), they went off in different directions. So while Trina met up with Mina, who was dressed as a demon, Corey walked around and explored the festival. When he walked past a group of humans, he couldn't help but overhear their conversation.

"Have you checked out the haunted house?"

"Not yet."

"Well you should. This year there's a rock climbing wall covered in spiders. It's a cool feature."

Corey purred. That was HIS wall they were talking about. He wondered if his father knew about it. After all, it was the actual Wall of Spiders that inspired his replica.

But before Corey could think about it some more, he felt someone spraying water at him. He turned around to see who did that to him. Sure enough, it was none other than Carrie and her friends. She was wearing a black witch costume and green elbow-length gloves, while Lenny, Kim, and Konnie wore monkey costumes and bat wings. "What's the matter, cat boy?" Carrie mockingly asked. "Afraid of a little water?"

Corey hissed. He didn't mind getting water on him. What Carrie just did was a very offensive cat stereotype. Worse, she sprayed water at him again. He didn't respond, letting Carrie and her friends laugh at him. He fought back the urge to shed his human disguise and used his electrical powers on those four cruel humans.

"Hey! Leave him alone!"

The five looked at who said that. To Corey's surprise, it was Laney, all decked out in a pink poofy dress, a pale pink tiara, and silver flats. She held a white toy wand in one hand and a water balloon in her other hand.

Carrie smirked. "Look who's finally talking," she said.

Laney got in front of Corey. "Stop hurting this boy!" she defended. "He isn't doing anything wrong!"

"Do you know who this is?" Carrie asked. "That freak is-"

"Corey Riffin," Laney interrupted. "A new student in Miss Honey's class who thinks he's a cat. He rests by the playground oak tree instead of playing with other kids during recess and eats plain tuna on the floor with his hands instead of plastic forks."

"He's still a freak," Carrie said. "In Miss Honey's class, he licks his hands instead of using a sink. He can't even talk properly!"

Laney growled. Then without warning, she threw the water balloon at Carrie, drenching her in water. "You jerk!" the blue-haired girl shrieked. "Look what you've done! My costume is ruined!"

"Just because Corey's different from other kids, it doesn't make him a freak!" Laney said. "I've only seen him from a distance, but I can tell he's a kind person who doesn't deserve this cruelty from you and your friends!"

Corey was surprised. This was the second time he saw Laney, and she was defending him. None of the other kids were like this, not even the nice ones in Miss Honey's class. Laney was definitely different from the other kids. VERY different.

"Come on, Corey," Laney said, taking him by the hand. "Let's leave the wicked witch and her flying monkeys alone."

* * *

Laney brought Corey over to a nearby corn field. She kneeled next to him and dried his face with her hand. "Sorry about Carrie," she said. "She and her friends are the meanest kids in the grade. You probably know that by now."

Corey nodded in response. "I'm Laney," the red-haired girl said. "Laney Penn. I guess you know that too."

Corey looked at the usually quiet girl. She was a kind human, even nicer than his mother. He smiled and purred, letting her know he was happy to see her.

But no sound came from his throat.

Laney got back on her feet. "I heard your class made the haunted house this year," she said. "Maybe you can show me what you did."

Corey looked up at Laney. He noticed her hair still covered her left eye. At that moment, he wanted to see the rest of her face. Without thinking, he slowly stood to his full height instead of all fours like he usually did. He carefully lifted his right arm and touched her hair.

"Corey?" Laney quietly asked, not knowing what he was doing.

Corey didn't respond. Instead, he moved his hand to her forehead, still touching her hair. Then he moved her hair away from her face, tucking the locks behind her left ear. He looked at her dark green eyes, his hand gently touching her left cheek. All he could think about was how pretty Laney looked in her costume. Finally, he opened his mouth to speak.

"Laney."

Corey couldn't believe what he heard. Did that come from HIS voice? He looked at the ground, noticing he was standing properly. Looking back at Laney, he realized something special happened: this human girl helped him grow out of the monster cat stage. His smile grew bigger and he wrapped his arms around Laney, pulling her in a hug.

"Corey?!" Laney asked in alarm.

"Thank you," Corey said, tears of joy dripping from his eyes. "You saved my life."

"It's no big deal," Laney said.

Corey pulled away from Laney. "It is a big deal," he said, still smiling. "You're the only kid in school who's been this nice to me. I want you to be my friend."

"Friend?" Laney asked, looking away. "I don't know... I never had any friends."

Corey responded by putting his hand on her chin, making her look at him. "Then be _my_ friend," he said, moving his hand away from her face. "From now on, we're going to be best friends for all eternity."

Laney sighed. "I guess if you want to..." she said.

"That's the spirit!" Corey exclaimed. "Now come on. You said you wanted to see the haunted house."

And so, Corey and Laney left the corn field as they held hands. "So what's your costume?" Corey asked.

"I'm a good witch," Laney answered. "What about you? I never saw a costume like yours before."

"I'm Forrest, Forrest Gump," Corey explained. He held up his prop chocolate box. "Want a chocolate?"

Laney giggled. "Your funny," she said.

"Just quoting the movie," Corey replied, still smiling.


	8. Peas and Carrots

It has been seven years since that night. Corey was now twelve years old and Trina was sixteen. Both siblings have changed so much over those seven years.

Corey showed Trina an alternate way to use her soul capture device. Since the humans saw it as a normal book and pen, she could transfer most of her powers to her prized weapon as a way of controlling her powers. It worked, and she didn't appear to explode into green slime ever again. She still kept her promise to Corey and kept on torturing Mina, but she was now very hostile towards him. After all, she had to repress her nice side if she wanted become the next ruler of the Underworld.

As for Corey, he changed a lot. He and Laney were still friends, but they added two more people to their group: twin brothers Kin and Kon Kujira. They first met during sixth grade and they were friends ever since. Corey also formed a band with his friends in honor of those animatronic puppets he liked so much. Unfortunately, Carrie and her friends also formed their own band, calling themselves the Newmans (since Newman happened to be Lenny's last name).

The only problem Corey had with his band was that the only inspiration he could have with outstanding lyrics came from his experiences in the Underworld. Trying to hide his true self, Corey decided to use Trina's soul capture device as an inspiration for non-demonic songs. Surprisingly, that plan worked, and Trina didn't suspect a thing.

But what changed the most was Corey's friendship with Laney. While they were still as close as peas and carrots, he couldn't help but feel attracted to her. She changed from a cute little girl to a beautiful twelve-year-old preteen. Not wanting to ruin their friendship, he treated her as one of the guys. Luckily she didn't seem to mind that. One instance came from that one time the band wanted to perform at a wedding. Yes, that was one night Corey would never forget...

* * *

Corey looked at his reflection in his bedroom mirror. Since the wedding was a formal occasion, he had to look his best. So he wore pale blue dress shirt, a faded blue vest, and a light blue tie along with his favorite shorts and sneakers. He even combed his hair for the occasion.

_"I can do this,"_ Corey thought. _"I've known Laney for seven years. She's going to wear a dress, but she's still my friend."_ He took a deep breath. _"A very beautiful friend with pretty red hair."_

"Corey!" Mrs. Riffin called from downstairs. "Laney is here!"

"Coming!" Corey called back. But before he left his room, he texted a quick message to Kin. It read 'At least show up for some cake.'.

* * *

When Corey walked down the stairs, he saw Laney standing by the doorway. To his relief, she was wearing a slightly girlier version of her latest outfit. Her hair might have looked shorter, but Corey knew it was a shampoo brand she was recently using.

"Hey Core," Laney said. "Not bad."

Corey walked up to his best friend. "Thanks Lanes," he said. "You look great too."

"I can't believe you're performing at a wedding," Mrs. Riffin told her son. "Seems like it was only yesterday you were still in those kitten years."

"Good thing you stopped behaving like a cat when we became friends," Laney said with a smile.

"Yep!" Corey replied, trying not to look nervous. "Glad those years are behind me!" Laney was the only friend who knew about Corey's behavior seven years ago. The two didn't tell Kin and Kon because it was their little secret. Of course the Newmans knew about it as well, but that's a whole other issue.

* * *

When Corey and Laney arrived at the wedding, they were greeted by Barney, the father of the bride. "Okay, make me puke for love or you ain't gettin' on that stage," he said.

Laney spoke first. "Well in one day, we picnicked in the park, strolled on the beach, shared a milkshake, and went through the Tunnel of Love."

Barney didn't respond, leaving Corey to talk about what else he and Laney did earlier today. But what to say? What Laney said wasn't what demons like him considered romantic. At least it was the first time he tried a milkshake, and it was a chocolate one. He only had one sip, which lasted for about thirty minutes. He still loved eating chocolate, even though he originally wanted a banana milkshake.

Luckily after leaving the Tunnel of Love, Laney let Corey show him what he considered romantic. They poured red packets of Kool Aid into a local river (as a makeshift River of Dripping Blood) and drank from the red-colored water at the same time, took turns slapping a piece of wood, ate a small handful of dandelion seeds, and pricked their pinkies with a sewing needle. But he couldn't tell Barney that! So instead, the young demon recalled what happened when he and Laney came back to the garage after doing those demon love gestures.

"And, we were so in love that we ignored our friends, broke up the band, and had a fight. About nothing!"

Barney reacted to that. "Sounds like love to me!" he said. "Hit the stage, yous crazy kids!"

Corey and Laney high fived one another before walking onto the stage. While the song they were planning on singing was for Kin and Kon, Corey wrote the lyrics for Laney. The song was secretly for her and only her. He silently hoped she didn't figure it out.

"This one goes out to two very special people," Corey said. "Our best friends, Kin and Kon." When a spotlight shined on the twins, Corey and Laney got off the stage and walked towards their friend as the began singing.

Corey: _There used to be a love between us_

Laney: _Then suddenly that love was gone_

Corey: _Now everywhere I turn you're missing_

Laney: _Like a hairless cat it feels so wrong_

Corey: _I let we_  
_Be about me_

Laney: _And I let us fall apart_

Corey: _Wrong is what I know I'll always be_

Laney: _Can we de-end and restart_

Both: _Please come back_  
_Please come back_

Corey: _My life without you ain't worth jack_

Laney: _I threw you away_

Corey: _Like a pile of old stuff_

Laney: _I'd take all the blame_

Both: _But I've had enough_  
_I'm nothing without you_  
_Well maybe not nothing but a whole lot less_  
_It's true..._

When the song was finished, Corey and Laney waited for a response. Sure enough, Kin and Kon shed tears of joy as the four friends embraced in a group hug. "We'll never be apart again!" Kon exclaimed.

Yes, Corey Riffin has changed so much since he left his home in the Underworld. He went from a demon who was slowly maturing to a human being with true friends. He used small portions of his powers a few times, but it wasn't enough to cause suspicion. While he did love his life as a human, he was still afraid of the day Laney, Kin, and Kon would discover his true form. He made sure they never found out, even if it hurt him.

After all, he had to do it for the beautiful human girl named Laney.

**The End**


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